Stalks your livestock and family outside the open door of your hut every night.

You protect yourself from the Lion with what nature provides. Cutting branches from acacia trees, with their 3” long thorns that do not bend, the Maasai weave a 6’ tall thorn fence around their villages on the Serengeti.

Thorns from the Serengeti acacia thorn tree. 3″ long. Strong. Do not bend.

To protect their animals from lions, the Maasai cut limbs from these trees and carefully weave a long 6′ high fence circling the “inside” of their villages.

Inside the thorn fence, their animals. At night.

Outside the thorn fence, the Maasai. In mud, grass-thatched huts.

On one of my journey’s into a Maasai village with my camera I spotted something I wanted to shoot. It was very close to me. I backed up a few feet. Right into the Maasai 6′ high thorn fence. The sharp thorns entered the backs of my legs. Fifty long needles pierced my legs. I was off balance. I was falling over backwards.

A Maasai warrior grabbed my arm and jerked me upright. I thanked him and wiped off my sweat. Then took a look at the backs of my legs.